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Lanzarote in the Canary Islands continues to be one Europe’s favourite excursion destinations not only in the mid summer vacation season but throughout the year.

The Canary Island of Lanzarote is a popular destination for tourists and home to a number of holiday resorts. But only Playa Blanca, which is situated at the far southern end of the island, can boast great weather all year round thanks to its great microclimate, as well as some of the best beaches on Lanzarote.

Until as recently as thirty years ago Playa Blanca was still a small fishing village – long after the development of resort rivals Puerto del Carmen and Costa Teguise to the north. Serving as a port from where ferries cross the Bocaina Straits to Fuerteventura, the neighbouring Canary Island. But its great climate and beaches soon caught the eye of developers – and building work started in earnest during the 1990´s. Resulting in a host of new hotel and villa developments.

Viewed from above Playa Blanca is essentially comprised of three small bays set within one much larger cove. And today the entire resort is united by a promenade that runs all the way from the outer edges of Papagayo through to the Faro de Pechuguera lighthouse. Enabling visitors to enjoy a stroll all along the seafront.

Playa Blanca Holiday Villas have become increasingly popular every year with tourists and independent travellers seeking good value rental accommodation on the island. Especially during the winter months when the weather here is better than on the rest of the island. Many of the winter visitors tend to stay for longer periods or even the entire winter as well as short breaks.

Luxury villas in Playa Blanca also offer great value for money in relation to comparable rental properties in other resorts. And also come equipped with plenty of luxury extras such as hot tubs, satellite TV´s and high speed internet connections.

For guests who are able to tear themselves way from the pool the resort is home to some spectacular stretches of sand. Such as Playa Dorada, Playa Flamingo and the small town beach of Playa Blanca – from which this destination takes its name. And the breathtaking coves and bays of Papagayo – regarded as one of the best beaches in the Canaries – are just a fifteen minute stroll away. There´s a great selection of restaurants for visitors and Playa Blanca is also ideally located for anyone keen to visit Lanzarote´s number one tourist attraction of the Timanfaya Volcano Park. As this is just a fifteen minute drive.

Thinking of booking a holiday in Lanzarote this year? Plenty of other tourists did just that during the course of 2009, with the island welcoming just under 1.4 million tourists last year. An impressive figure given the impact of the credit crunch and the weakness of the pound.

Despite these factors around 750,000 tourists from the UK are expected to visit the island during the course of 2010. Around half of them will book self catering accommodation – such as villas in Lanzarote – direct online. With many booking specific dates to coincide with one of the many fiestas and festivals that take place on the island every year.

For independently minded travellers there are a whole host of holiday villas in Lanzarote available at sensible prices all year round.

In February Carnival sweeps across the island – bringing work to a halt for at least a couple of weeks. With events taking place in different locations and on different dates. This is arguably the most colourful and best attended event of the year and attracts huge crowds. Featuring cleverly decorated floats that wouldn’t look out of place at the Notting Hill Carnival, massed ranks of drum bands and hordes of dancers dressed in real Carmen Miranda fashion. With plenty of riotous dancing and drinking.

May sees the arrival of over 1000 super fit athletes on the island. As the annual Iron Man contest gets underway. This is widely regarded as one of the hardest events of its kind in the world. Entrants have to swim 3km, cycle 180km and then finish all of that off with a full marathon. Many don’t even make the finish line but for the top 60 a place in the Grand Final in Hawaii beckons – along with a slice of the $75,000 prize money.

Lanzarote is also a great destination for music lovers too as there are concerts and festivals taking place throughout the year. Among the best is Jazz Canarias which visits the island every July. And which showcases some of the best young talent from the world of jazz. In previous years featuring free live performances from the likes of the guitarist Kyle Eastwood –offspring of the famous actor Clint Eastwood. All of which takes place in the atmospheric setting of the historic former island capital of Teguise.

September is also a great time for booking holiday apartments in Lanzarote. As the Costa Music Festival takes place that month. Bringing an eclectic mix of live dance acts and top DJ talent to the beach at Playa Bastian in Costa Teguise. And like so many other events on the island this is also entirely free of charge – attracting crowds in their thousands.

Click here for further information on Playa Blanca Villas and accommodation .

The Canarian island of Lanzarote is one of the few European destinations that already have several green credentials under its belt. Whilst this may surprise some visitors, there are several good reasons why this is the case, due largely to the island’s climate and position.

One factor that makes Lanzarote’s a great holiday destination for those who want to lessen their carbon footprint is to do with its location. As the flight time is only four hours from the UK, the Canaries are significantly closer to home than the Caribbean, making winter sunshine available with much lower fuel consumption en-route.

Even the Lanzarote villas and apartments contribute to reducing the eco footprint of the island.

The year round sunshine that it enjoys means that solar panels are used widely across the resorts and in residential homes. Many holiday villas in Lanzarote have their swimming pools heated by panels on the roof, whilst some even derive their internal power from this source as well.

Wind turbines have been in use on Lanzarote since the mid 1990’s and contribute approximately thirty percent of the island’s power needs. These giant turbines make good use of the prevailing winds as they blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. And local residents often choose smaller turbines for domestic use for the same reason.

But it isn’t just power generation that makes Lanzarote an environmentally sound tourist destination. As the island has also developed its resorts and attractions in ways that minimise the impact on the scenery and surroundings thanks to the vision and resourcefulness of the internationally renowned artist and architect Cesar Manrique.

For all these reasons, holidays in Lanzarote often make visitors feel they are returning to the past. Where white washed villages and towns bear none of the ugly scars such as high-rise buildings and advertising hoardings that can be readily found elsewhere. And Lanzarote apartments rise no taller than a palm tree.

Further details about available Lanzarote holiday accommodation can be found on the Lanzarote1.com website.

There are plenty of reasons for booking a holiday on the sunshine island of Lanzarote during 2010. As the fourth largest of the Canaries offers a year round raft of events and festivals for visitors to enjoy. Along with great beaches and wonderful weather.

There are plenty of good accommodation options available on the island too. With villas in Lanzarote priced from around €350 per week and rental properties located in all of the main resorts as well as across the countryside.

Lanzarote car hire is also very affordable, so it’s easy and affordable to get out and about and enjoy colourful events that are going on.

2010 gets off with bang as the island plays host to the 26th annual Festival de Musica Canarias. A showcase of cotemporary classical music staged across all of the seven islands in the archipelago. Lanzarote hosts five concerts during the first month of the year – including performances by Sphera Antigua and the The Prague National Chamber Theatre Orchestra.

Carnaval kicks off across the island in February. And whilst the celebrations are not quite as riotous as in Rio they still attract thousands of revellers. With many holidaymakers planning their holidays in Lanzarote around this colourful event, which pretty much brings work across the island to halt for a couple of weeks every year.

Carnaval is staggered – so it takes place in different towns and resorts on different days. The biggest and best events take place in the island capital of Arrecife and the oldest resort on the island of Puerto del Carmen. Where huge decorated floats and marching batacuda drum bands beat out a frenetic rhythm. Attracting thousands of residents and tourists alike – with many donning colourful costumes and partying late into the night.

May sees the arrival of the annual Iron Man competition. Which is widely regarded as one of the toughest triathlons in the world. Over a thousand super fit competitors will be battling it out for a top prize of €75,000 and a slot in the grand final in Hawaii. Taking on a course that encompasses a 180km bike ride, 2km swim and a full marathon. Which is staged along the Avenida del las Playas – the main beachfront thoroughfare in Puerto del Carmen.

Corpus Christi is one of the most important events in the Catholic calendar and is celebrated on the eighth Thursday (or 60 days) after Easter, which will be the 3rd of June in 2010. On Lanzarote it is marked with carpets created from multi coloured salt – with different municipalities all competing to come up with the most imaginative and high impact design. The best of which cane be viewed in the capital of Arrecife or the historic town of Teguise.

You can find details of Lanzarote villas and other Lanzarote apartments and villas here.